2nd Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment
1910 - 4th November Battalion left Portsmouth for Malta. Stationed at Verdala, St. Andrew's, and St. George's Barracks.
1913
- 12th
September Battalion sailed for China.
20th October - Reached Tientsin. 200 men moved to Pekin to form
part of the British Legation Guard.
1914 - 1918 WAR
1919
- 4th
January sailed for South Russia.
8th January disembarked at Batum, Armenia and moved to Tiflis.
May - Battalion relievd. First Cadre sent home to join Foreign
Service Details at Chiseldon.
11th October - Battalion reformed, sailed for India.
9th November - Arrived at Ahmednagar.
1920 - Detachment to Peshawar. In October Battalion moved to Rawalpindi.
1921 - Detachments to Amritza, Lahore, and Multan.
1922 - Rawalpindi
1923
- Third
year at Rawalpindi. In April the Battalion moved from West Ridge
to Victoria Barracks. Each company went to the Hills (Upper
Barian) in turn for 6 weeks to escape the hot weather. In April
Colonel Rawson retired and was Succeeded by Colonel Wilkinson.
In October the Battalion left the Punjab for Jhansi, United
Provinces, 750 miles by train.
1924 - January, 'A' Company left to garrison fort and barracks. Rest of Battalion moved to Saugor for 10 days of manoeuvres (125 mile march both ways).
During summer, detachments of 100 men from 'D' and then 'B' Company sent for 3 months each to Purundhar, near Poona. 100 men from 'A' and 'D' Company to Chaubattia, near Rhaniket. Families went to Pachmarhi.
1925
- 2nd
Lieut. C.E.A. Firth promoted Lieut.
Lieut. L.C. Evans promoted Captain.
Capt. & Brevet Major H.F.L. Hilton-Green, DSO, MC promoted
Major.
Capt. & Brevet Major A.C. Vicary, DSO, MC promoted Major.
Lieut. J. Vicary, MC promoted Capt.
2nd Lieuts. T.H. Clarke and H.L.W. Bird posted to Bn.
Capt. C.E.K. Bagot, MC psoted to Bn.
Capt. A. Furley, MC appointed Adjutant and Quartermaster, Small
Arms School, Pachmarhi.
Lieut. D.E. Baker appointed Adjutant 1st Bn G.I.P. Railway Regt
(A.F.I.),
Bombay.
Capt. & Brevet Major N.F. Somerset, DSO, MC appointed Staff-Capt.,
HQ, Southern Command, Poona.
Lieut. F.W. Priestly appointed Officiating Assistant Embarkation
Staff Officer, Bombay.
Officers proceeded on leave to UK during the year:
Major A.F. Chapman; Major H.F.L. Hilton-Green, DSO, MC; Major J.R.
Guild, DSO; Capt. R.M. Grazebrook, OBE, MC; Lieut. T.H. Barnard.
1926
- Major H.F.L.
Hilton-Green, DSO, MC returned to Bn from duty with Simla Rifles.
Major Cox attended Staff College, Quetta.
Capt. R.P. Power posted to Depot.
2nd Lieuts. Bryant and Butler posted to Bn from Sandhurst. Capt.
Pope posted from 1st Bn.
Lieut. Jenkyn posted to Indian ASC.
Pte R. Leighton commended by District Commander for gallantry in volunteering to be lowered on a rope down a 40-ft well to rescue a woman who had fallen in. He brought her up but she was dead.
Regimental Tattoo put on by HQ Wing:
Programme:
9.30pm Fall in.
Entry of Band and Drums (March, 'Georgia')
Retreat. 'First Post' Sounded by the Bugles. March 'The Hundred
Pipers'
Scottish Patrol 'The Gathering o' the Clans', The Band
Gymnastic Display (commanded by CSM F. Daffurn)
Marches, The Band. 'The young May moon is beaming, love' (the
tune played by the 28th Foot as they marched onto the battlefield
of Quatre Bras, 1815). 'Cheer, boys cheers' (the tune played by
the 61st as they marched into camp on Delhi Ridge, 1857).
Representation of 18th Century Military Punishments.
The Drums march in the prisoners and escort to the slow march 'De
Rosen'. The following sentences are then promulgated by the
Provost (Sergt. Phipps) and the punishments carried out:
a) John Andrews, of the Grenadier Company, is sentenced to sit
the wooden horse for sleeping on his post.
b) James O'Connell, convicted of theft, is sentenced to be tied
neck and heels.
c) Andrew Pearson is convicted of absence without leave, and
sentenced to be picketed.
d) Peter Simple is convicted of slaughtering his Colonel's horse,
and of selling the hide. He is sentenced to the Halberts to be
flogged and branded.
e) Elizabeth Williams and Peter M'Conachy are then marched in to
the tune of 'The Rogues' March'. These 2 prisoners are convicted
of trying to persuade men to desert to the French service. The
woman is sentenced to be put into the cart, that she may watch
the punishment of the man, who is tied to the cart and whipped
out of barracks by the smallest drummer of the Regiment. (This
actual case occurred in Scotland in 1746). 'The Rogues' March'
was the tune played when a man was drummed out of a regiment, and
the following doggerels were sung to it:-
"Fifty
(lashes) I got
for selling my coat,
Fifty for selling my blanket;
If I ever 'list for a soldier again,
The devil shall my serjeant!'
The
uniforms worn throughout the
performance were of the 61st Foot, 1768.
Grande Finale: The Battle of Salamanca.
1927 - see 'Shanghai 1927'
1928 - September, during a rugby tournament at Cawnpore, Lieut. Firth rescued a drowning Indian from the River Jumna.
December,
Battalion embarked at
Bombay for England. During voyage 5178396 Pte J. Wilkins, 'A' Coy.
died.
26th December arrived at Southampton and moved to Gravesend.
Captain
Pope and Lieut. Bird
posted to Depot.
Captain Furley, Lieuts. Sheppard and Townsend transferred to the
"Special List" of Quartermasters, Indian Army.
Major Capel posted from Depot.
Lieut. D.E. Baker rejoined Bn.
Capt. Mirehouse to Staff College, Quetta.
Lieut. Clarke transferred to Indian Army Ordnance Corps.
Lieut. Wintle to the RASC.
Lieut. Firth to 1st Bn, as Adjutant.
2nd Lieuts. V.F.D. Tarrant and G.P. Wethered posted to Bn
1929 - War Office Letter, No.54/Infy/6464 (30 Nov. 1929) "His Majesty The King has been pleased to approve of the facings of the Gloucestershire Regiment being changed from white to yellow."
February
- 'D' Coy. became a
Machine Gun Company, with 12 Vickers guns.
August - Bn marched to Shorncliffe for exercises.
Brevet-Lieut-Col.
V.N. Johnson
joined Bn.
Major H.F.L. Hilton-Green, DSO, MC retired.
Brevet-Major J.R. Guild, Capt. R.P. Power and Capt. L.A.W.B.
Lachlan promoted Major. Major Power posted to 1st Bn.
Brevet-Major L.H. Cox appointed to staff at Bulford, Salisbury
Plain.
Capt. C.E.K. Bagot replaced as Adjutant by Capt. L.C. Evans
Lieuts. T.H. Barnard, D.E. Baker, and B.J.V. Vigrass to be Capts.
(Capt. D.E. Baker retired).
Lieut. M.M.A. Bryant appointed to West African Frontier Force.
2nd Lieuts. G.P. Wethered and V.F.D. Tarrant joined Bn. 2nd Lieut.
Tarrant then posted to 1st Bn.
2nd Lieut. D.W. Biddle joined Bn, then posted to 1st Bn.
2nd Lieuts. A.E. Wilkinson, C.W.A. Bath, and K.G. Merritt joined
the Bn.
CSM Tymms to be RQMS (vice Walliker, retired)
CSM Lester to 'D' Coy.
CSM Woodward to HQ Wing, duty as ships Sergt-Major during
trooping season.
CQMS Hann to be CSM 'B' Coy.
CQMS Cannell to 'B' Coy.
Sergt. Dower to be CSM, posted to Depot.
Sergt. Goode to be CQMS, then CMS and posted to 5th Bn
Sergt. Clifford to be CQMS, 'D' Coy.
Sergt. Perry to be CQMS, then CMS 'A' Coy.
Sergt. Drinkwater to be CQMS 'A' Coy.
29th May - 5179703 Pte J. Wilkins, HQ Wing, "at considerable personal risk, succeeded in stopping a runaway horse on the Range and avoided serious damage to government property."
1930
- Training
at Gravesend.
August Bn trained at Ludgershall with the 4th, 5th, and 6th
Battalions.
September in camp at Southwold, Suffolk.
Brevet
Lieut-Col. V.N. Johnson,
DSO posted to 1st Bn
Major J.R. Guild appointed to command 5th (Kenya) Battalion,
King's African Rifles.
Major L.A.W.B. Lachlan appointed to Staff in War Office.
Capt. W.H. Parkinson to be Major and retired.
Brevet Major N.F. Somerset posted to Bn
Capt. G.E. Mirehouse rejoined Bn after completing Staff College,
Quetta.
Capt. E.B. Pope rejoined from Depot, replaced by Capt. C.E.K.
Bagot.
Capt. J.R. Walton posted to Bn
Capt. L.A. Powell attached to Bn (late-Adjutant, 6th Bn)
Lieuts. E.M.B. Gilmore and F.W. Sharpe promoted to be Capts. Capt.
Sharpe posted as Adjutant, 6th Bn.
Lieuts. P.D. Hamilton and B.W.H. Budden posted to Royal West
African Frontier Force.
Lieut. B.E.R. Morton posted to Depot; Lieut. H.L.W. Bird rejoined
Bn from Depot.
2nd Lieuts. R.G. Brownrigg and E.B. Cottingham joined Bn. The
former then posted to 1st Bn.
2nd Lieuts. G. Kitching, T.K. Lacey and D.B.A. Grist posted to Bn.
1931
- May the
Bn put on a display at Olympia.
July Bn (626 strong) marched to Shorncliffe for 3 months training.
Oct. Bn returned to Gravesend by 'bus convoy'
Lieut-Col.
V.N. Johnson, DSO
rejoined Bn to command; replacing Lieut-Col. Beasley, DSO who
retired.
Major H.N. Vinen posted to command Depot; Major A. Capel rejoined
Bn
Capt. R.M. Grazebrook to be Major
Capt. F.W. Ollis joined Bn, from Anti-Gas School.
Capt. G.E. Mirehouse posted to Hong Kong.
Capt. P.P. King posted to Bn (from duty with RAF in Iraq)
Capt. R.G. Douglas joined Bn (from duty with Sudan Defence Force);
later posted to 1st Bn.
Lieut. J.W.C. Kirkland posted Bn from 1st Bn
Lieut. B.E.R. Morton rejoined from Depot, Lieut. R.S. Butler
posted to Depot
Lieut. J. Biddulph joined Bn (from duty with King's African
Rifles)
2nd Lieut. J. Heath joined Bn (from Oxford University)
2nd Lieuts. R.G. Brownrigg and G. Kitching posted to 1st Bn
2nd Lieuts. A.J.A. Muirhead and E.D. Comber-Higgs joined Bn (from
Sandhurst). Muirhead then posted to 1st Bn
1932 - Left Gravesend 22nd Nov. for Catterick
Camp, Yorkshire.
Strength 27 officers, 616 other ranks.
Capt.
Ollis promoted Brevet-Major
(New Years Honours List)
Lieut. Priestley succeeded Lieut. Evans as Adjutant. Lieut. Evans
to Depot.
Capt. Walton succeeded Capt. Ladds as Adjutant, 4th Bn. Capt.
Ladds rejoined 1st Bn.
Capt. Gilmore returned to Bn (from being an instructor at
Sandhurst)
Lieut. Philips rejoined Bn from duty in Iraq.
Lieut. Clarke rejoined Bn, pending transfer to RAOC.
2nd Lieuts. Page and H.J. Lovett joined Bn. Page then resigned
his commission and Lovett went to 1st Bn.
Lieuts. Heath and Comber Higgs posted to 1st Bn
1933 - July Battalion at Bellerby Weapon
Training Camp.
August-September Brigade Training, including the Battalion's
first ever exercise with tanks.
Captain
Vigrass posted as
Quartermaster, 5th Battalion in June.
Lieut. Bird posted to the Nigeria Regiment.
Lieut. Grist and Brevet-Major Ollis posted to 1st Bn.
2nd Lieut. Ingles joined the Bn.
1934
- Combined
Operations Training, including a 50 miles cruise into the North
Sea on HMS Achilles.
Captain M.A. James, VC, MC appointed General Staff Officer for
Weapon Training at Aldershot.
Capt. Barnard posted to Depot to replace Capt. Evans.
Capt. Gilmote posted as Adjutant, 6th Bn, replacing Capt. Sharpe.
2nd Lieuts. Heidenstam, Day, and Walwyn joined Bn.
Major A. Capel, CSM E. Lester, and CSM R. Perry retired.
1935
- Lieut-Col.
V.N. Johnson, DSO appointed Officer-in-Charge Records and Pay
Office, Warwick.
Lieut-Col. L.H. Cox, MC appointed to command the Battalion.
Major L.A.W.B. Lachlan posted to 1st Bn in India.
2nd Lieut. C.R. Davis joined Bn (from Supplementary Reserve)
2nd Lieut. C.L.C. Roberts joined from T.A.
Capts. C.E.K. Bagot, MC and W.H. Hynes, and 2nd Lieuts. D.S.
Strachan-Audas and J.P. Ingles posted to 1st Bn in India.
Major R.M. Grazebrook, OBE, MC posted to command Depot.
Major B. Temple, MC appointed Brigade-Major, 144th (Gloucestershire
and Worcestershire) Brigade, TA.
Capts. E.B. Pope, DSO and P.D. Hamilton retired.
Lieut. T.K. Lacey on a 4 year secondment to the RAF.
Capt. H.L.W. Bird rejoined Bn (from Colonial Office) and
appointed Adjutant.
Lieut. M.M.A. Bryant rejoined Bn (from Colonial Office)
Lieut. A.E. Wilkinson posted to Depot as Adjutant, replacing Capt.
C.S.R. Campbell who rejoined 2nd Bn
Major G.E. Mirehouse appointed GSO II, 55th (West Lancashire)
Division, TA.
Lieut. E.B. Cottingham joined Bn from Depot.
2nd Lieuts. A.H. Knight, C.A. Lenny, J.D. Garnett, and J.A.
MacKenzie joined Bn from Sandhurst.
Major L.C. Evans and 2nd Lieut. C.R. Davis posted to 1st Bn.
Capt. F.W. Priestly posted as Adjutant 5th Bn.
CSM W. Saunders and Sergts. J. Richards and D. Swayne discharged.
14th Dec. Battalion put on stand-by to sail for Egypt, due to the tension between Britain and Italy.
1936
- Capt. R.R.
Phillips transferred to the Indian Army.
Major N.F. Somerset, DSO, MC appointed to command the depot.
2nd Lieuts. A.D. Hunter, R.C. Munden, E.D. Harding, and A.J.A.
Argeno-Jones joined the Bn.
Capt. J. Biddulph, and 2nd Lieuts. C.L.C. Roberts and E.D.
Harding posted to 1st Bn.
Capt. J.R. Walton invalided to UK on sick leave in July.
Capt. & QM C.A. Budd and Capt. F.W. Sharpe posted to depot.
Capt. J. Vicary, MC joined Bn from depot.
Capt. L.H. Bean posted to Bn from the Somerset Light Infantry.
Sergt. A. Moss invalided out of the Army.
RQMS Baker posted to depot.
CSM Foxwell posted as PSI 5th Bn.
CSM Oxenham posted as PSI 4th Bn.
RSM W. Middlecote, DCM posted as RSM at the depot. Replaced by
RSM G. Pearce.
7th
January Battalion sailed
from Southampton for Egypt, along with the 2nd Cheshires and 1st
York & Lancaster Regiments. Sailed on the Cunard White Star
Liner 'Scythia'. Landed at Alexandria on 17th Jan. and moved by
train to Sidi Bishr Camp.
23rd Feb. marched to Mersa Matruh. Water was scarce and the Royal
Engineers opened up some Roman wells to provide a better supply.
A guard was mounted at the Roman wells to protect the supply.
27th July moved by train from Mersa back to Sidi Bishr Camp.
22nd December sailed for England from Alexandria on HMT Neuralia.
Training began for conversion to a Machine-Gun Regiment.
1937
- 1st Jan.
arrived at Southampton. Disembarked 2nd Jan. By train to Plymouth.
Based at Seaton Battacks, Crownhill.
Battalion given 2 months leave, returning by 1st March.
1st April Battalion officially became a Mechanized Machine-Gun
Battalion.
September Brigade Training at Willsworthy Camp, Dartmoor.
14th Sept. moved to the Artillery Practice Camp at Okehampton (field
firing exercises)
Returned to Crownhill 2nd October.
19th Oct. HRH The Duke of Gloucester launched the cruiser
'Gloucester'. 200 men of the 2nd Bn sent to Devonport Dockyard to
form a Royal Guard of Honour for the ceremony.
1938
- Lieut-Col.
L.H. Cox, MC posted to a Brigade at Malta. Lieut-Col. N.F.
Somerset, DSO, MC appointed to command 2nd Bn.
Major J. Vicary posted to command depot.
Capt. C.E.A. Firth to Staff Appointment at the War Office.
Capt. H.L.W. Bird to Staff College.
Capt. M.M.A. Bryant to GSO III Southern Command.
Capt. E.B. Cottingham posted to the Iraq Levies.
Lieut. G. Kitching, 2nd Lieuts. C.A. Lenny, and C.N. Clarke
resigned their commissions.
Lieut. P.C.S. Heidenstam posted to depot as Adjutant.
2nd Lieuts. J.J. Middleton-West and R.V.G.N. Johnson posted to 1st
Bn.
Major E.M.B. Gilmore (Adjutant 6th Bn) joined.
Capt. A.E. Wilkinson rejoined as Adjutant.
Capt. J.G.C. Waldron rejoined from duty with RAOC.
Lieut. C.E.B. Walwyn rejoined from depot.
2nd Lieut. J.C. Robertson posted to Bn.
2nd Bn rugby team won the Army Rugby Cup.
Orders arrived to convert back to a Rifle Battalion in 1939.
1939 -